1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to light beam scanning apparatuses used in image forming apparatuses that use electrophotographic processes such as printers and copiers, and controlling methods for image forming apparatuses.
2. Description of the Related Art
In electrophotographic image forming apparatuses such as laser printers, a printing operation is carried out through the processes of exposure, development, transfer, and fixing. Specifically, first a beam (a laser beam for example) irradiated from a light source (a semiconductor laser for example) is modulated according to pixel unit image data (image signals). Next, an electrostatic latent image of an image to be printed is formed by the modulated beam being raster scanned onto a photosensitive drum surface by a multifaceted mirror (a rotating multifaceted mirror such as a polygonal mirror, also referred to as a deflector). The electrostatic latent image is developed as a toner image by a development apparatus. Next, the toner image is transferred to a transfer material (printing paper) by a transfer roller, and then fixed onto the transfer material by fixing heat from a fixing device, so that the toner image is formed as an image on the transfer material.
However, when fixing the toner image using heat, a portion of the water content contained in the transfer material is vaporized by the heat at the time of fixing so that the transfer material, which results in a change in dimension. The rate of shrinkage varies depending on the type and thickness of the transfer material, but is approximately 0.1 to 0.5% lengthwise. Transfer material that has shrunk due to fixing will subsequently reabsorb water content and expand to return to its original dimensions, but approximately 15 to 20 minutes are required to do this. An image that has been formed on the transfer material also undergoes a similar change in dimension due to shrinkage of the transfer material at the time of fixing and the subsequent expansion.
Consequently, in double sided printing mode in which images are formed on both sides of the transfer material, image formation is carried out on the back face (second side) in a state in which the transfer material has shrunk approximately 0.1 to 0.5% after an image has been transferred and fixed onto the front face (first side). Thus, after image formation on the back face, when the transfer material reabsorbs water content and expands to its original dimensions, the images expand and the image sizes of the front face and back face become different from each other, thereby causing a problem that registration of the front face and the back face (front to back registration) shifts out of position.
Accordingly, in order to address this problem in double sided printing mode, an image forming apparatus has been proposed having means for achieving high precision registration by matching the front and back image sizes for images to be outputted during double sided printing. For example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-25841.
In the case of this image forming apparatus, the pixel length is constituted by a plurality of high frequency clocks in a high frequency clock generating device that generates from a basic clock a high frequency clock that is a multiple integer of the basic clock. Then, adjustments are carried out for main scanning direction shrinkage that occurs during front face image forming and back face image forming in double sided printing mode by reducing the number of high frequency clocks that constitute pixels whose pixel width is subjected to shrinkage. Furthermore, adjustments are carried out for sub scanning direction shrinkage by making the rotation rate of the deflector greater than that for front face image formation.
However, this method for adjusting sub scanning direction shrinkage in double sided printing by changing the rotation rate of the deflector has the following problems when attempting to reduce printing times and achieve higher productivity.
Namely, when changing the rotation rate of the deflector to match the sub scanning rate for the second side (back face) during double sided printing, the rotation rate of the deflector must be changed after completion of writing of the first side (front face). However, since the rotation rate of the deflector does not become stable until a predetermined setting time has passed after changing the rotation rate, the second side cannot be written until after the setting time of the deflector has passed (after a time in which the rotation rate of the deflector has stabilized). Thus, there is an impediment against achieving higher productivity in printing when attempting to reduce printing times and achieve higher productivity in printing by shortening the interval between the first side and the second side since the interval cannot be set shorter than the setting time.